Raven (Kindred #1)

by Scarlett Finn

  Grant was already there and was pacing in front of the window. He didn’t look up when she came in, so she closed the door and went to a decanter in the corner. Taking her purse off her arm, Zara laid it down and poured two measures.

  It wasn’t until she took the drinks over and stepped into Grant’s path that he stopped and actually saw her. “Zara,” he said and took the glass she held up toward him.

  “You look like you need a drink,” she said, wearing a warm smile meant to comfort. He took the glass and gulped the liquid without attempting to disguise the trepidation of his mood with a traditional toast. She sipped from her own glass and watched him drink.

  “Watch it with the hard liquor,” Art said through her earpiece. “That’s enough.”

  Sustaining a conversation and presence in this room would be difficult while being a part of another conversation going on across the street at the same time. “I think we both could use the courage,” she said, more in response to Art than to Grant.

  Grant kept drinking until his glass was empty, then he went to the large leather couch that faced the window and collapsed onto it, resting the glass on the back of the couch.

  “Come and sit here,” Grant said, bringing his glass down onto the seat.

  Doing as she was told, she took his empty glass and put it on a side table with her own. “I have a clear shot,” Brodie said and she tipped her chin away for fear Grant would hear their voices. “That’s your only warning. If he puts his hands on you”—she slid down the couch away from Grant. “Better.”

  Grant didn’t support her retreat though because he shifted toward her. “Thanks for meeting me.”

  “Sure,” she said, unsure of what to do when he dropped a hand onto hers on the seat of the couch. The contact was slight; she just hoped Brodie didn’t notice it.

  “I asked you to meet me because… I want you to help me.”

  “Of course,” she said. “Anything I can do.”

  “You’re a good girl, Zara,” he said, bringing his hand to her jaw.

  With a laugh meant to be light, she pulled his hand down from her face. “How many have you had to drink, sir?”

  His eyes searched hers. “We’re more than boss and employee, aren’t we, Zar?” he asked, inching closer still.

  “I don’t… I don’t know what you mean.”

  “I can trust you, can’t I?”

  A few weeks ago, she might have been offended that he would question her allegiance. Now the lines weren’t so clear because she was in league with his brother who was trying to put a stop to his illicit business deal.

  “You can trust me,” she murmured, turning her head enough that the men in the opposite building wouldn’t be able to see her mouth. Not that it mattered; they could hear everything.

  “Good,” Grant said at the same time Art said the same word in her ear. His eyes moved from his slacks to the couch, to the floor, to the wall. So while his body position didn’t change much, his turmoil was obvious. “I’ve been struggling with something for months now. Making decisions alone which could affect many lives.”

  Ready to listen to what he had to say, she tried to remain calm. “What kind of decisions?” she asked and couldn’t believe this was the moment he was going to confess all to her.

  His gaze stuck on his knee, he inhaled, then moistened his lips. “Many years ago CI began developing a device,” he said and she had to squeeze her lips together. “It was meant to be for medical use that was its initial purpose…”

  Trying to forget the danger, she imagined this was all new information. “We develop a lot of medical devices,” she said, urging him on.

  With a distant almost longing in his voice, he beseeched the spirits or perhaps they were the demons that haunted him into this course of action. “My father didn’t agree with its potential,” he said, opening his fingers over hers and tracing the seams of her closed fingers with the tips of his.

  This was a genuine moment of vulnerability and she felt guilty that he was revealing himself to her without being aware of their audience. But that was her human compassion ruling good sense because with the potential for danger tonight, she was so grateful to have Brodie watching over her and she touched the edge of her necklace before returning her thoughts to Grant.

  “You never talk about your dad,” she said, opening her fingers to trap his, so that he couldn’t keep stroking her because such an action felt intimate and she did not intend to get that close to this man. She was happy with the one she’d chosen.

  Some of his regret receded and he strengthened his jaw. “I don’t talk about any of my family,” he said. “They’re still out there. My father had no siblings, but my mother did… They’re out there, but…”

  When his attention drifted up to the window, she was struck by the irony. Grant was staring out and two of his family members were staring right back, only he didn’t know it. “But?” she asked, trying to ease him into carrying on.

  With a loud inhale, he straightened his shoulders. “It doesn’t matter,” he said, shaking off his previous melancholy. “When we find ourselves alone in the world, we have the freedom to make grander decisions and that’s what I’m doing with Albert Sutcliffe.”

  “Is he the confirmed buyer for this device?” she asked.

  “There are two other interested parties, but Sutcliffe has been the most persistent. I think his ideology is the most worthy.”

  That was a terrifying statement. It was bad enough when she thought that this was all about money. If Grant was not only in business with these men, but also in league with their ideas and politics, CI could become a very different kind of institution. “His ideology?” she asked.

  He twisted and met her eye with a determination she recognized from someone else she knew. “I need a confidante. Someone to help me. To understand.”

  “To understand what?” she asked.

  “How important this is,” he said. “These men, the men I’ve been dealing with… they’re serious and determined. I can’t lie to you, Zara. Meeting them could endanger you.”

  “Endanger me, how?” she asked, reminding herself that she wasn’t supposed to know these men were terrorists.

  His tight smile wasn’t reassuring. “I’ll do everything I can to protect you. We won’t let it come to anything serious.”

  “Thank you,” she said, hoping that this was the right reaction to such a statement. “But if this deal is in any way dangerous, you shouldn’t go through with it. Why is this deal so dangerous?”

  “Because once we sell this device, it’s possible that it will be used for a sinister purpose.”

  Taking her time to think about how she might react to this revelation if it was new. She explored his features for a few seconds. “What, like a weapon?” she asked, drawing her hands away and moving further down the couch, but he followed her again.

  “No, it’s not… you’ll see later exactly what it’s capable of. Sutcliffe wants a demonstration and that’s why it was so important that you and I talk before the meeting. I wouldn’t want you to think I kept anything from you.”

  “A demonstration? I don’t want to be present if people are going to be hurt.” She moved to rise, but he caught her wrist when she was halfway up and tugged her back down.

  He didn’t let her go, just pulled himself closer. “No one will be hurt,” he said. “You have my word on that. No one will be hurt tonight. What these men want to do is make the world a better place and we can be a part of that, Zara. You and me.”

  “I don’t want to be a part of anything that is going to cause suffering.”

  “Dial it back,” Art murmured in her ear.

  Zara tried to temper her reaction because it was important for the mission that they knew where this device was and what it was capable of.

  “I have worked so hard to make it perfect, Zara,” he said. The saddest part was that he clearly believed what he was saying.

  “I’m sure the men in Quebec who died thou
ght the same thing… What happened to them? You said there was an explosion?”

  Coming across as the consummate professional, his detachment from the loss of life was unnerving. This wasn’t like talking to Brodie who was used to death and destruction. As far as she knew, Grant was a novice, yet he put on a good show.

  “I don’t know yet. I’m going to travel up there tomorrow to investigate. Everything there was destroyed. Luckily, I had already moved some supplies down here and the compressed drug was kept separately.” When his gaze drifted away, he was frowning, lost in his resolute thoughts. “The fact that someone knew to attack us there is concerning. Very few people knew that the plant was there.”

  Managing to preserve her ease, Zara tried for more information. “I don’t remember seeing a research station there in the company reports.”

  “It was kept secret for this very reason. To produce and use this product requires vision that few people have. Some would set out to destroy it. It’s possible we have a saboteur who may have a misguided idea of why he was destroying our research. Or…”

  It was her turn to be determined. Without taking her attention away, Zara hoped their connection would force him to be honest. “Or what?”

  “One of our bidders was sending a message.” He was honest in his suspicions at least, but he had no answers to offer her on why the plant had been destroyed.

  Coiling her hands in her lap, she nibbled her lower lip. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

  His gaze stuck to the lip she was worrying in her teeth. “Will you come with me?”

  Surprised by the question, her other thoughts vanished. “Where?” she asked.

  “The plant. Tomorrow.”

  “Oh,” she said, tightening her grip on herself.

  “Say no,” Brodie said through her earpiece.

  “Say yes,” Art followed up and she sucked her lower lip into her mouth as she tried to think of a response.

  With a smile, she tried to ignore the implication of the request. “I can make reservations as soon as I get to a computer,” she said, hoping he might tell her to do it this minute. “I can coordinate your trip from here. There is no need for me to travel—”

  “I meant with me,” he said and his hand rose toward her face, but she intercepted it.

  “That’s very sweet, Grant,” she said, looking left and right while trying not to be too obvious about leaning away. “But uh… we should keep things professional.”

  The heat in his eyes was anything but professional, so she deliberately slanted her shoulders in hope of concealing this exchange from the men watching through her necklace. “You’re one of the most incredible women I’ve ever known,” he said. “You remind me a lot of my mother.”

  “Oh,” she said, not sure if that was a compliment or not, given he was talking about romance. “That’s uh… creepy.”

  Grant laughed and he seized her hand again. “I meant it as a compliment. She was a wild woman, tenacious and confident. She was fearless, very intelligent and she had a great spirit.”

  “Thank you,” Zara said, making a mental note to ask Brodie later if she reminded him of his mother. “I am flattered, really, but”—she pulled her hand away from him—“I’m sort of seeing someone.”

  “You are?” he asked, his surprise made him draw back.

  “Yeah, she is,” Brodie said through her earpiece in a growl that made her tremble.

  “I am.” Covering Grant’s hand, she gave it a platonic pat.

  “Is it serious?” he asked and she noted how her earpiece became silent.

  “That seems to depend on his mood.” Muffled laughter echoed in her ear, but she kept her smile steady on Grant.

  “You deserve the best. I hope he knows how lucky he is to have such a gracious woman.”

  Grant linked their fingers and stood to pull her to her feet. “We should go to the party downstairs, show face, and write some checks. We’ll come back up here when it’s time.”

  “Wait,” she said, not moving when he tried to guide her along at his side. “I still don’t understand about this demonstration. When is it happening?”

  “Tonight,” he said. “Midnight.”

  “So the device is here on the premises?” she asked. “Where is it?”

  He widened his smile and drew a finger along her jaw. “You’ll find out when it’s time.”

  Trying to catch a look over her shoulder, she couldn’t object when he took her out of the suite and down to the party. But she could use some direction from her cohorts right about now because there was danger here and Grant was leading her straight into the fire.

  SIXTEEN

  Grant had taken her to the party in the Grand ballroom and furnished her with a flute of champagne. Art told her to put the alcohol down, but with frayed nerves, she was hesitant to comply. At least she was until he reminded her the camera in her necklace would go into the ladies room with her if she needed to pee. After that, she stopped drinking and just used the glass as a prop.

  Maintaining a distance from festivities, Zara chose to remain on the fringes of the room and not to interact. “I want to dance,” she said, keeping her back to the wall and her glass over her lips as she watched the glitterati mingle. “I wonder if my new boyfriend dances.”

  She didn’t really want to dance, but she’d been here for nearly two hours and she imagined the men in the building opposite were getting as restless as she felt. So she decided to needle Brodie while he could do nothing to prevent her.

  “Let him take you to Rio during Carnival and you’ll find out,” Art said through the earpiece.

  Imagining the lives of the people she was watching and those of the men supporting her tonight, she was struck by the differences. “You know, this whole experience has made me realize…” she murmured. “Adventure is all around us.”

  “Stop talking,” Brodie said in a monotone that betrayed his displeasure.

  Her initial thought that he was just being grumpy and impatient was replaced when she realized her support team couldn’t see her here in the ballroom at the rear of the building. But they could see the frontage, where they could be witnessing anything, and withholding the information from her.

  “Should I be worried?” she asked and then explained herself. “We’re worried about a chemical agent and we know this device is on the premises.”

  “Can you see Grant?” Art asked her.

  The last time she’d seen him, he was on the dance floor with a blonde. Zara stepped out of the shadow to examine the partygoers and spotted Grant in a small group of serious men.

  “Yes,” she said, aware of her frown but unable to remove it. “He’s networking.”

  “As long as you keep him in sight, you’ll be safe. He’s not going to unleash any noxious gases while he’s in range,” Art said in a cool but reassuring voice.

  Zara relaxed because that made sense. “You’re a smart guy, Art,” she said, returning to her dark cocoon and her teasing. “It’s a wonder you let yourself be dragged down by that lug head you live with.”

  Art laughed but Brodie spoke up, “Pretty baby, you let that smart mouth run away as much as you like, it can spend all night apologizing. Spend less time talking and more thinking about that.”

  Hiding her smile, Zara sought out Grant again to check his position. Except he was coming through the crowd toward her, so she erased the smile Brodie had put on her face. “Four men just entered the conference room,” Art said, returning to the cause at hand.

  Taking her weight off the wall, Zara composed herself in time for Grant arriving at her position. His grave expression made her skin prickle into gooseflesh, but she tried not to display any hesitation because her boss had to believe that she was strong enough to face this without folding.

  “It’s time to go,” Grant said, offering her his arm.

  Upholding her air of naivety about the situation, she smiled and took his arm, allowing him to lead her out of the ballroom.

  “T
wo more targets in the zone,” Art said through the earpiece.

  Two voices. Two locations. It was difficult to follow both without revealing the truth of what she was doing to Grant. Over time, it would probably be easier to slide in and out of the present moment as the Kindred blathered in your ear. But Zara was concentrating on Grant, letting him guide her towards a dangerous situation she wasn’t trained to handle and her trepidation was making her ears ring.

  When they got to the elevator, Grant stepped away enough to press the call button. “I appreciate your support,” Grant said. “Your loyalty is valuable to me. I don’t want you to think I underestimate it.”

  Grant took her arm again when the elevator came and they moved into it together. “What’s going to happen up here?” she asked. “I can be more valuable to you if I know what to expect.”

  “Good,” Art said in her ear. “Find out what he anticipates.”

  Grant didn’t respond right away, in fact it felt like an age before he said anything, to the point that Zara began to wonder if he was just going to ignore her question.

  “I don’t know exactly what will happen,” Grant said, curling his fingers over hers at his elbow. “Whatever does happen, play along and I’ll explain later.”

  That wasn’t the reassuring answer she’d hoped for. But it would have to do because they got to their floor and Grant ushered her along the corridor toward the conference room they’d been in before. Her heart began to race. As much as she tried to keep her breathing steady, her fingers began to shake. She couldn’t ask for comfort from her protectors. With Grant so close, she had to be mute.

  “I’m there with you, baby. All the way,” Brodie murmured in her ear.

  Much to her surprise, her fingertips were on the line of diamonds around her neck. They must have risen to the jewels to seek solace from Brodie. Knowing that her lover had sensed her need encouraged her to carry on and she took a deep breath before Grant opened the conference room door.

  She had expected people to be here, but not so many, or maybe not so many ominous ones. The sight of six intimidating men made this once generous space feel much more confined.